Excerpted FOREWORD

By Ruth Messinger

Excerpt from Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World © 2006 Sidney Schwarz (Woodstock, VT; Jewish Lights Publishing). $24.99+$3.95 s/h. Order by mail or call 800-962-4544 or online at www.jewishlights.com. Permission granted by Jewish Lights Publishing, P.O. Box 237, Woodstock, VT 05091.

It is appropriate that in these early years of the twenty-first century Jews take a new look at who we are, where we have traveled, and how best to use our faith to address the challenges of our time. As Sid Schwarz makes clear in this timely, thoughtful, and perceptive book, a detailed examination of the role of social justice in Judaism is central to this inquiry and offers us valuable insights and new directions for our work. It turns out that working in various settings to help repair and improve the world offers entry and reentry points for Jews who find meaning in these activities and who can, through this work, develop a new appreciation for Judaism.

As this book chronicles so well, there are many other groups that are exploring Jewish tradition and Jewish text as they grapple with issues of urban poverty, environmental activism, how best to serve others, local organizing, and global change.

We at American Jewish World Service are also driven by the social justice message of Judaism. In the last decade we have seen our commitment to Jews as global citizens take hold in the North American Jewish community. The idea that there is a faith-based argument for Jews to address poverty, oppression, and hunger in the developing world resonates with a growing universe of individuals and is most evident in the service programs we run for Jews from high school through retirement—Jews who give a week or up to a year of their lives to help people in the poorest parts of the world create a better future for themselves.

The strong response from the Jewish community against the ongoing genocide in Darfur demonstrates this increasing commitment to social action. During this period the Jewish community gave meaning to the phrase “Never again!” as it worked to end the violence in Sudan and rescue the people of Darfur from a continuing attack on their right to exist. Jews showed themselves ready to stand, to speak, and to work for global justice.

Much recent thought, time and money have been invested by Jews in the questions of Jewish continuity: What will keep Jews attached to Judaism? How will we command new attention from “lapsed” members of our faith? What role will Judaism play in the lives and activities of Jews? This book contains many of the answers. We need just such an activist Judaism now because the universe is broken, because there are domestic and international situations that demand our attention. Social justice work is an entry point to a stronger Jewish life for many young people, a way to bring much of the next generation back to Judaism. We have in this book not only a full explication of these ideas, but a guide to who is doing this work and how more of it might be done. It reminds us of the heritage of social justice work in the Jewish tradition and argues brilliantly for the importance of reviving a prophetic Judaism that motivates Jews to help heal the world in the twenty-first century.